Rovaniemi

Welcome to Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland.

Rovaniemi is an urban city surrounded by arctic nature, where Lappish culture and a wide range of activities meet. In Rovaniemi you can visit Santa Claus and cross the Arctic Circle every day of the year!
It is the provincial centre of Lapland, located right on the Arctic Circle. The town lies at the confluence of the rivers Ounasjoki and Kemijoki, and is a historical meeting point for trade, people and cultures of the north.

Today, Rovaniemi is a lively university town and a popular travel destination, as well as the regional, commercial, administrative, educational, cultural and sports capital of Finnish Lapland. In terms of geographic area, Rovaniemi (8 017 km²) is one of the largest towns in Europe. With approximately 60,000 inhabitants, it is the 15th biggest town in Finland.

As a cultural hub, the city hosts a number of cultural and international events. There are also a broad number of museums and exhibitions throughout the year. Get your science on at the Arktikum Science Center or learn more about northern forests next door at Pilke Science Center.

While downtown Rovaniemi bustles with experiences, you need only take a few steps out of town to find room to breathe, space to move, and broad expanses of rolling land and clear skies.

Rovaniemi is situated in Finnish Lapland, right on the Arctic Circle. Despite the northern location, getting here is easy – Rovaniemi is well connected to the rest of the world via various means of transport.
From abroad, the town is easiest to get to by plane via Helsinki. Inside Finland, Rovaniemi can be reached by plane, train, coach or car. In the winter – the Christmas season in particular – charter flights with hotel packages are offered from many countries.

1. FLIGHT CONNECTIONS
Daily flights between Rovaniemi and Helsinki are operated by Finnair and Norwegian throughout the year.

For winter and spring 2020-2021, the following direct flight connections to Rovaniemi have been established:
London (Gatwick) – Rovaniemi with easyJet – Operated between 18th November 2020 and 24th March 2021 on Wednesdays and Sundays
Istanbul – Rovaniemi with Turkish Airlines – Operated between 3rd December 2020 and 21st March 2021 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays

2. TRAIN CONNECTIONS
Finnish railroads are operated by state company VR.

Rovaniemi is easy to reach by rail from many Finnish towns, with several trains running to and from Helsinki every day. Trains run year round, despite harsh weather at times. the most convenient are the night trains.

3. COACH CONNECTIONS
The coach services by Matkahuolto and Onnibus cover a great deal of Finland’s road network.

They’re not only an option for reaching Rovaniemi from the south, but also the only means of public transport that connect the town with the northern parts of Lapland.

4. ROAD CONNECTIONS
Rovaniemi is easy to get to by car from all directions.

If you plan on travelling around Lapland by car, be sure to allocate enough time for the long distances and changing weather conditions, particularly in the winter.

Visit Santa Claus Village and Santapark.
Yes – the most famous man in Rovaniemi, Santa Claus, can be met every day of the year in Santa Claus Village at the Arctic Circle. Santa Claus Village is a little cosy town full of activities for the whole family, read from here all that you can do there. Santa Park is a Christmassy underground cavern, where you can, for example, earn your own diploma in Elf School.

Rovaniemi is the Official Hometown of Santa Claus, and Santa Claus Village draws more than 500 000 annual visitors from all around the world. Santa Claus Village is open every day of the year and it is home to approximately 50 draws in the form of activity companies, shops, restaurants and cafés.

Since 1985, Santa Claus has received 18 million letters from 199 countries, which makes Santa Claus Main Post Office a must on any visit to Santa Claus Village. The merry postal elves are happy to serve customers all year round in their headquarters, which is a real post office operated by Posti, Finland’s national postal service. Every letter sent from here gets a special Arctic Circle postmark not available anywhere else, so your greetings home are sure to be unique.

In his 30 plus years in Rovaniemi, Santa Claus has received millions of visitors including pop stars, politicians, television personalities, athletes and regular people from every corner of the world in Santa Claus Village. His headquarters on the Arctic Circle has become known to many, many more around the globe through widespread international media coverage.

Whether you feel like fast food or enjoying a delicious dinner, Rovaniemi has plenty of restaurants to choose from. Find the most convenient choice for you and your friends.

We can recommend following cafes and restaurants during your stay in Rovaniemi.

TRADITIONAL LAPPISH:

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MODERN FINNISH AND SCANDINAVIAN:

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HAUTE CUISINE / CASUAL FINE DINING:

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SNOW AND ICE:

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EUROPEAN / ASIAN / OTHER:

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FAST FOOD:

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